Don't cut your seeded perennials after they bloom, she advises, because joe-pye weed, liatris, sedum, and their ilk feed birds all winter. Even dead trees attract insects that birds love. She also tells people to stop spraying and fertilizing and instead rely on the "black gold" of compost to support the soil.

"Gardening is like painting," she says. "It's ninety percent preparation." Fall is a great time to get started, first by understanding the advantages of native or well-suited plants that thrive on their own.

"I'm pushing sixty," Bank says. "I'm not going to do all that watering and weeding anymore."